Higher Open Anticipated For China Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The China stock market has finished lower in back-to-back trading days, sinking more than 25 points or 0.8 percent along the way. The Shanghai Composite Index now sits just above the 3,280-point plateau although it may find traction on Thursday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is upbeat on optimism over debt ceiling negotiations in the United States. The European markets were mixed and the U.S. bourses were up and the Asian markets figure to follow the latter lead.

The SCI finished slightly lower on Wednesday following losses from the financial shares, property stocks and resource companies.

For the day, the index dipped 6.76 points or 0.21 percent to finish at 3,284.23 after trading between 3,269.89 and 3,298.52. The Shenzhen Composite Index rose 6.57 points or 0.33 percent to end at 2,025.95.

Among the actives, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China shed 0.40 percent, while Bank of China dropped 0.95 percent, China Construction Bank skidded 1.05 percent, China Merchants Bank sank 0.92 percent, Bank of Communications slumped 0.85 percent, China Life Insurance tumbled 1.92 percent, Jiangxi Copper rose 0.26 percent, Aluminum Corp of China (Chalco) lost 0.70 percent, Yankuang Energy skidded 0.97 percent, PetroChina fell 0.66 percent, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) added 0.62 percent, Huaneng Power climbed 1.07 percent, China Shenhua Energy retreated 1.25 percent, Gemdale declined 1.13 percent, Poly Developments was down 0.72 percent, China Vanke stumbled 0.87 percent and China Fortune Land improved 0.41 percent.

The lead from Wall Street is solid as the major averages opened higher on Wednesday and accelerated throughout the day, ending near session highs.

The Dow surged 408.63 points or 1.24 percent to finish at 33,420.77, while the NASDAQ rallied 157.51 points or 1.28 percent to end at 12,500.57 and the S&P 500 advanced 48.87 points or 1.19 percent to close at 4,158.77.

The rebound on Wall Street reflected optimism that lawmakers will eventually reach an agreement on raising the U.S. debt ceiling following Tuesday's meeting between President Joe Biden and top congressional leaders.

Regional banks helped lead the rebound on Wall Street, with shares of Western Alliance (WAL) spiking by 10.2 percent after the company said deposit growth for the current quarter exceeded $2 billion as of May 12.

In economic news, the Commerce Department unexpectedly reported a significant rebound in new residential construction in April, although building permits came in below expectations for the month.

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday on expectations of higher demand and optimism over U.S. debt ceiling negotiations. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for June jumped $1.97 or 2.8 percent at $72.83 a barrel.